The Lucky Black Cat
by Gamerfan411
Summary: Sissel is enjoying helping others with his meteorite-powered abilities.  But is he going to regret helping a certain young genius?  Death and some GT spoilers involved.
1. Chapter 1

_**I originally intended this as just a One-shot but... the story developed and I realized one chapter wasn't going to cut it if I do this.**_

_**Please Read & Review. Depending on how many people pay any attention to this, I might just not bother continuing...**_

_**Note: Events are taking place before the Time Paradox but after The Lost Colony. On the Ghost Trick side of things: this is after Sissel had fixed the meteor event's results to make everyone happier and events are 10 years later.**_

The "Lucky" Black Cat

An Artemis Fowl/Ghost Trick Cross-over

**Sissel**

Life was good for me nowadays, 10 years after the meteorite incident. The little lady and the detective were as happy as could be imagined. The family was clearly complete and Lynn, the red-haired detective was thriving in her job. Yomeil was apparently happy as I had seen him walking the streets with a woman I didn't recognize but given his apparent attachment to her, it must have been the person who he had originally named me after: Sissel.

Me? Watching all of them living their lives was entertaining for a while but… every now and then, I wanted to do something… having the Temsik meteorite fragment inside me meant I had eternity before me and I could leave my body at any time as a soul and manipulate objects. The only body I could influence though was my own. I didn't have the power Yomeil had had before that night.

I went about doing these occasional deeds just to have a little fun and help someone while I was at it, simply to spice up my life. I'm a cat, what can I say? Heh, then again, I technically can't say anything but that's beside the point.

However, I found out the hard way, that some people are possibly better left alone.

###

I was just wandering town. I was going by a local restaurant, one of those upper-class type of places. One that Lynn would've never had to money to visit, to put it another way.

Then the glass of one window quite suddenly had a hole appear in it. I was startled, obviously. But I decided to check things out…

I curled my body in against the building, out of the way, as if I were going to take a nap and entered Ghost World to jump into the core of a plastic saltshaker on the other side of the wall. It had evidently been dropped. I left Ghost World to see how events were unfolding (being that time is stopped in Ghost World).

The inside of the restaurant was in a panic, except one fellow who was cradling a body. That was how people tended to act when a murder happened. The man holding the body though, was huge… and that's an understatement.

I made use of the tableware to make my way across the room to the two of them.

"Artemis! Artemis! Oh gods… Angeline is going to be…" the man holding the body was lost for words.

I soon got to the core of the dead boy in the man's arms.

I took a moment to deliberate with myself if I was actually going to attempt this.

After a while in Ghost World, I finally decided I was going to be a nice guy and try to undo this.

I would find myself wishing later that I had just left things as they were…

###

When I entered the body's core, I found myself face-to-face with a blue soul flame… not surprising given how recently the person had died.

"Hey there. You wakin' up anytime soon?" I asked rhetorically. To my surprise, they actually did.

"Hm? Greetings… what is this place?" the soul said, in rather cordial tones despite sounding tired.

"Ghost World. Sorry, but you're dead." I said bluntly. No use dancing around the issue, I figured.

The soul suddenly flickered and took on the form of the boy he was. It struck me then how formally the boy was dressed. He was wearing a suit that I had little doubt was expensive. He also had hair as black as my own fur and… two differently colored eyes? The speed at which the kid had regained his original appearance was also stunning, since that meant he was very smart if he could remember so quickly.

The boy smiled and if I had been in my body, my fur would've stood on end. It was a friendly smile but it still made me nothing less than nervous.

"Hmm. I can accept that explanation seeing as how I cannot think of any other way to account for the conditions I perceive." The boy said, the smile fading "But if you don't mind answering: how is it that I can speak to a cat?" He had a hint of amusement in his voice. I got the feeling that he was asking the question out of curiosity more than wonder.

"I can't exactly explain myself, but here in Ghost World, thoughts are heard by everyone." I said, not knowing how else to put it.

"Ah… how interesting." The boy said thoughtfully. Then what I had just said crossed my mind and I realized I wasn't picking up any thoughts from him!

"So you noticed." The boy pointed out "it's no wonder you're not more scared of me if you can't read my mind. Thousands of thoughts must have already passed through my own mind in this short time."

"But, but… how-?"

The boy shrugged, interrupting my confusion before folding his arms.

"How indeed? I've got my own theories but I'll save those for another time. Now then, I believe we've already affirmed that I have died. You seem to be quite smart for a simple cat. Can you tell me how I died?"

I got the distinct impression he was testing me and he knew perfectly well how he had died. Perhaps it was the fact that as I thought this, a smirk was playing about his lips. I decided to humor him though.

"A sniper got you?" I guessed.

The boy contemplated this as if he didn't know already. He finally nodded.

"Yes… that seems correct… and they must have been quite skilled to have gotten past Butler's guard."

"Butler?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"My bodyguard… the man who I'm afraid I've left in a rather… shattered position by dying. I owe him an apology…" the boy trailed off, looking somewhat ashamed of himself.

So the massive man was named Butler?

"Oh yes," the boy suddenly spoke, sounding like he was chastising himself "I may be dead but that's no excuse for a lack of manners, even to a cat. I am Artemis Fowl the Second." The boy said, bowing in a manner as cordial as his tones as he introduced himself. I was left feeling like any response to this attitude would be insufficient.

"Uh… Sissel… my name's Sissel." I said rather lamely… my mind seemed to have gone numb.

Artemis didn't seem to mind my response's lack of formality and pushed right on with the conversation.

"Now to the main question on my mind, my feline friend: Why are you here and how did you come to be here?" Artemis's tone shifted until he was sounding very serious as he asked his question. He leveled a gaze at me that seemed to show a side that I hadn't seen until just then… and it scared me…

I realized then that I had just stepped into a situation that was possibly _very_ dangerous.

**Artemis**

I had only been in this country for a couple of days. My intentions had been a simple study.

Of course, I was operating under the pre-tense of a school park tour. I was still going to St. Bartelby's, as per Mother's demands. It had been an easy matter to convince the headmaster to have a school tour for the local park well-known for the meteor that had hit 10 years ago. Old news to be sure but a little money on the side and the man had been like putty in my hands; I'd even gotten Butler permission to accompany me for the trip. I'd been looking up information on the internet for some days after getting back from Limbo and I had come across this meteor. On the surface, it hadn't appeared to be anything that interesting but a bit of digging had unearthed rumors of strange occurances at the park that day 10 years ago. Thus, I had arranged for this trip.

At the time, I was feining illness and had claimed to be going back to the hotel... of course, I actually was going to get a closer look at the meteor's site for myself and I was simply having lunch first. Butler had been worried coming here... he had warned me that he felt he was losing his edge... that I was in mortal danger. I shrugged this off though, I had faith in my old friend.

A shame I had to die on him like this, one of the few times I was wrong. It is amazing what comes of events like these though...

I knew there had to be more to this black cat that was now talking to me in this... Ghost World as he called it. I had never heard of souls talking to one another like this and now, I was experiencing it firsthand. I was also feeling somewhat grateful that the cat couldn't read my mind or else he might've left right away and I would've been stuck as a dead genius. It was merely a guess, but the first theory that had crossed my mind was that Holly's magic (which I had, admittedly, stolen in the time tunnel) was creating an unconscious shield of some sort. It was the only explanation that I could think of. However, given that I knew little at this point about this cat or what he was capable of, I wasn't about to do something so naive as voice this theory to him. Besides that, it would mean I would reveal my fairy companions down below.

I could tell I was scaring the creature. But the situation I was in was something I wasn't about to let go of lightly so I was being ruthless with my questions. I heard a variety of thoughts racing through his mind:

_What do I tell him? Why can't I hear _his_ thoughts? Can I even trust him with anything?_

The cat hesitated several minutes... it seemed time was stopped while we were in this Ghost World so I allowed him the time to think. But I soon reapplied pressure on him.

"Tell me... Sissel, how is it that you have come to visit me in my own body? And why?" I repeated my question, keeping my glare focused on him. That finally got him to answer.

"I came here because... I was going to try to reverse your death." he said in forced tone. I stared him down... I had no way of being certain... but I had to trust he was being honest.

"And what motive could you possibly have to do that? This is the first time we met." I pointed out, rather haphazardly. The cat gave me a confused look but then seemed to concede the point.

"Entertainment I suppose... plus its nice to do something for others..." _though I'm having my doubts here now._ I heard the after-thought but I couldn't help feeling a touch sympathetic. I had some projects in mind that not only would be a great mental exercise for myself but it would also be helping everyone around the world if I pulled them off. Though I obviously wouldn't be performing any of them if I was dead.

"Interesting..." I replied "So, how are you going to go about preventing my death? It has already happened as we both very well know."

_Here comes the big part... do I tell him? Or..._

The cat seemed to be forgetting that I could pick up his thoughts easily and based on that one sentence that passed through his mind, I knew he could do something... what though? I'd have to wait for him to say if he did at all. Sissel seemed to decide to tell me though.

"We're going to go back to four minutes before your death."

A personal time warp? This surprised me but after my adventures in Limbo, it didn't stun me. My mind was immediately wondering how he had this ability though.

"Well, shall we then?" Sissel asked, a definite note of uncertainty in his voice. He didn't trust me, I was sure of that but he had decided to save my life and I wasn't going to pass that up. I gestured for him to proceed.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Alright, this is where I might end this if no one seems to be really taking all that much interest in this._**

**_Then again, I might just continue to see where I go with it. Even I'm not sure at present._**

**_In any case: enjoy._**

The "Lucky" Black Cat

Chapter 2

**Sissel**

I willed time to rewind and soon, it felt like we were rushing backwards.

"Alright Artemis, let's see what exactly happened."

-Four Minutes Before Death-

Artemis and his bodyguard were seated in the restaurant. The bodyguard looked less-than comfortable. It wasn't that he was actually seated, as he was standing by the table, attempting to eye all the customers to make sure they weren't doing anything that looked hostile. He was trying to make sure they weren't about to murder his charge.

"Artemis… It's been too long… I feel I'm forgetting something…" Butler said, his voice strained as he attempted to recall what he was forgetting. Artemis looked up from the menu he was viewing.

"Butler, this is a perfectly innocent venture, not anywhere near illegal. I hardly see what anyone would want me dead for here."

The bodyguard wouldn't let up his guard though…

A minute passed as Artemis continued to look over the menu. Someone was talking on something across the restaurant.

Having finished, the man talking got up and left.

About another a minute later, something on Artemis made a noise and he pulled out the thing and started speaking into it after looking at it.

"Hello Mother." He waited "Yes, I'm fine. It's merely a school trip to Temsik Park to look at the meteor." Another pause "Mother, you don't need to worry about me. Butler is with me, I'm perfectly safe."

Then there was a loud crack and Artemis fell to the floor as Butler yelled.

The four-minute review was over.  
>"Well, that was interesting…" I commented dryly. One thing was on my mind from all that.<p>

Artemis looked thoughtful.

"So you can go back four minutes into the past…" he mumbled, apparently putting together what I could do.

"You're here because of the local park?" I said. Artemis looked up and looked a little sour for a moment but his face reverted to its neutral expression again.

"Yes, like I was telling my mother: just a school trip."

"I get the feeling you're here for more than that."

The boy shrugged.

"My business, black cat. None of yours."

I accepted his point, realizing that I wasn't going to draw any information from him concerning it.

"So what was that thing you were talking to her through?"

Artemis blinked, his face one of pure disbelief.

"You don't know what a cell phone is?"

I considered the fact that he had called it a phone…

"Um… no… it is like a regular phone?" I asked.

Artemis covered his face with one hand, shaking his head with that look of disbelief still there. He sighed before speaking.

"Very well, I suppose being a cat, you wouldn't understand technology… yes, a cell phone is like a regular phone… except _considerably_ more portable." Artemis said in a tone that seemed to imply I was an idiot.

"Hmm…" I couldn't hold back a smirk… which Artemis noticed.

"What?" he said simply.

I shook my head, he'd see once we got started trying to reverse his death.

"Time to avert a fate." I said coolly and rewound time back four minutes.

###

We started where Artemis's body had been. This was how things worked with undoing a death like this.

"Alright, so I trust you can do more than send us back through time?" Artemis started.

"Yep." I looked around the local area and moved to the menu in the living Artemis's hands. I looked some more from there.

I let time go by a bit. Then it came time for Artemis's cell phone and he pulled it out. I moved into the phone.

"What are you doing?" Artemis asked, curious.

"I'm just experimenting with something briefly." I said.

Living Artemis answered the phone and I looked at the phone again from Ghost World.

I wasn't the same as what I'd seen in the past, but I could see waves coming slowly off of the phone. It seemed very familiar to what I had seen with normal phones.

I then tried using it.

Immediately, I could see on the other end of the connection.

A woman, who I assumed was indeed Artemis's mother, was on the other side.

"Hello Arty. I hope things are well over there."

Living Artemis responded "Yes, I'm fine. It's merely a school trip to Temsik Park to look at the meteor."

The Artemis accompanying me was clearly stunned at what he was seeing.

"You can see through phone connections?" the boy finally said.

"More than that…" I said, suppressing a chuckle.

Before Artemis could ask more, I dived into the connection and within the second, we were on the other end of the line with his mother.

The boy's shock had increased and he was silent.

"I've been able to travel through phone lines for the longest time now as a soul." I explained "When you told me that a cell phone was like a more portable version of a phone, I figured I could probably travel through the connection as well, though it is probably very different."

I looked around the room we were now in… it looked like we were in a mansion of some sort. I spoke up again.

"It looks like there's nothing I can do for you from here though so let's go back and try this again."

I rewound time again before Artemis could speak. Strangely, I found myself feeling a certain level of satisfaction at Artemis's speechlessness.

We were soon back at the restaurant of four minutes before death.

Armed with this knowledge about cell phones, I moved from the living Artemis's menu, to the table's salt shaker, to a passing waiter's tray, which I rode over to the other side of the room. I was pretty sure I'd seen another cell phone to use. I figured I might as well try it out and listen… I never knew where I'd end up seeing. It had really surprised me once in the past.

I jumped out of the waiter's tray to another table and over to the man who had been speaking.

He soon pulled out that phone and started speaking into it. I quickly possessed it and looked in.

"Are you in position?"

"Yeah, I've been in position for several minutes. I'm getting a promotion for this."

I found myself feeling my hair would've stood on end again if I had had it at the time. I recognized the fellow on the other end.

It was a hit man I had dealt with in the previous time before I had fixed things. His name escaped me at the time but I remembered his face. The man was blue (don't ask me why, I don't know), and wore a black hat and glasses.

Artemis picked up the thoughts.

"So… you're thinking he's my murderer?" the boy said.

"Yeah…"

"Good, and don't be getting ahead of me Tengo." The man on the phone continued "The boy the boss wants you to get rid of is here. He's investigating that meteor… he doesn't want him finding anything out about it or he figures he'll find someway to steal it."

"Roger. Promotion, then I'll be the boss after that."

The man muttered about more "getting ahead" and hung up, but not before I traveled through the phone connection. On the other end, the assassin was sitting in a hotel room, hanging his silver sniper-gun out of the window. A quick look around the room and I could tell there wasn't anything I could use to even hinder the assassin's attempts with.

"Alright… just one shot and the kid 'll be headed for heaven. Or my name's not 'One-step-ahead Tengo'." He muttered and took aim. However it was still going to be a minute or two before death, I knew that so there had to be something that delayed this guy…

And indeed there was. A man with a briefcase opened the door of the room quite suddenly, making the assassin jump.

"Criminy!" he yelled and the man in the door jumped as well.

"Whoops, sorry, wrong room." The man said quickly, apparently not able to see the gun from where he was and quickly closed the door.

The assassin groaned, muttering curses before growling.

"Lucky him, I didn't shoot him right there since he didn't see my gun. I hate extra work. But now I gotta take aim again…"

I barely caught that though because I jumped from the assassin's cell phone to a lamp, to a picture on the wall, to the light-switch next to the door and finally, to the man's briefcase from through the wall.

"Now where is my room? Maybe one more floor up?" the man mumbled to himself, scratching his chin. I got the impression this guy wasn't all that smart.

He walked upstairs and I felt myself wishing he'd hurry… time was running short now.

Artemis was getting tense next to me.

The man went up to a door at the top of the stairs (which didn't go up any further) and opened it. He found himself looking at the roof of the building. Artemis rolled his eyes at this guy's obvious stupidity. I was wondering myself why the guy hadn't gotten proper directions to his destination.  
>Then I noticed something that looked handy. There was a crane on a rooftop across the way from the building, and it had a large load suspended over the building. There weren't any cores for me to traverse through to it though. But I had an idea.<p>

I manipulated the briefcase I was possessing, causing it to pop open.

"Blast it!" the man roared as several papers flew free into the wind and he attempted to quickly re-close his case. I quickly jumped into one of the papers… only about three seconds left…

The paper flipped through the wind and came close to the crane.

I jumped into the crane controls, which were nearby and I quickly manipulated those. The crane swiveled so the load was directly over the point I desired; over the assassin's head, who had his head out the window so he could aim.

Artemis could see what I was about to do as I moved from the control panel to the joint of the crane, to the gripping claw; he smirked.

I couldn't help smirking as well as I caused the claw to open with a loud clank.

The weight dropped, straight down.

"What was- AGHHH!" the assassin below screamed as the load knocked him out of the window and flattened him below with a loud crash.

I glanced at Artemis.

"I think that handles that…" I said smugly.

"I little close there, but I must admit… you have done impressively well." Artemis said calmly and then got back to business "Now that you've stopped my death, I presume this is where I… wake up back in my new present?"

"Shall we?" I offered. The boy nodded and we rushed forward through time.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Again, even I'm not sure where I might go with this... but from here on out... I guess I'm going to put my all into this.**_

_**But I hope you enjoy.**_

The "Lucky" Black Cat

Chapter 3

**Artemis**

I found myself quite suddenly back in the restaurant, Mother speaking into my ear again. It felt strange for those first several moments, I could still rather clearly remember my death and what I had just gone through and it felt somewhat disturbing.

"Arty? Arty? Are you still there?"

I got hold of my scattered thoughts and responded to my Mother on the cell phone.

"Yes, Mother, I'm still here… something just came to my attention, I'm sorry."

Mother sighed on the other end.

"I suppose that means you need to hang up then? Well, come home soon, okay? Your father is dying to know how your trip went."

I almost didn't hear what she was saying, as I was reining in an uncharacteristic surge of emotion in my chest… it had occurred to me that if that cat, Sissel hadn't come and reversed my death… I would've been leaving more than just Butler shattered…

I felt so ashamed for not thinking of my mother. If I had not kept myself composed, I would've started crying.

I finally brought myself around to responding, keeping my voice level.

"Yes Mother, I'll be returning soon… good-bye." I wasn't sure if I was lying or not…

I hung up and took another moment to keep myself composed. I breathed in once, and breathed out…

Butler recognized the motion.

"Problems, Artemis?"

I looked up at the bodyguard.

"Forgive me, old friend… It seems I have been wrong on many matters. If it hadn't been for an unseen force today, I'd be dead right this minute." I said quickly and quietly.

Butler looked surprised, which was not surprising in itself.

"A sniper… you _did_ forget something… and my own guard has also been lax." I said simply.

Butler cursed under his breath for his carelessness and promptly moved to check for snipers and keep me covered.

As he returned I continued.

"Do not worry, the sniper has been… handled and I do not think another attempt on my life is eminent." _I pray I am not wrong this time…_

Butler took my words at face value… I knew he trusted me fully and completely. Even if it were no longer how events had happened, I felt I had violated my bodyguard's trust by being incorrect on such a grave matter.

I pushed these feelings of guilt aside though… what was done was done and I was alive again. I stood.

"Come Butler, I think it is time I do what I came to this country to do and head home. I am not safe here."

Butler did not question my decision and followed me as I left.

It was as we turned and started for the rental car that I noticed something that changed events completely from how they might've been otherwise…

There was a black cat curled up in a sleeping position on the ground against the wall of the restaurant. It did not appear to be breathing.

_It couldn't be…_

Butler raised an eyebrow when I approached the stray animal. I wasn't known for an attraction to animals of any sort. He stood by me as I crouched down near the cat and gently moved its head aside…

There was a collar around the cat's neck, under a red bandana, the name tag attached read:

_Sissel_

_(YMT)-2369_

I couldn't hold back a small smile.

_Should I? Or shouldn't I?_ It was a major decision… out of curiosity, I placed a finger along the cat's neck, checking for a pulse… nothing…

"Artemis…" Butler spoke gently but firmly "Is there a reason you're looking at stray animals on the side of the road? Or are we going to be going?"

I closed my eyes to think for the moment… I couldn't take this decision lightly… I finally decided…

"Sorry old friend," I apologized again "I just had a certain… premonition." I chuckled lightly, this wasn't like me and we both knew it.

"I get the feeling that, despite the old superstition, this is a cat that is_ very _lucky to cross paths with."

Butler raised an eyebrow, knowing that this sort of thing wasn't like me. I gently picked up the body and carried it.

"I came here for information on that meteor… and so collect it, I shall." I said softly and we walked to the car, Butler not questioning my words.

_Sissel… you know something… I shall extract the truth from you one way or another… I swear it…_

**Sissel**

As I returned to the present, I was stuck in the crane alone; Artemis was gone, having returned to living.

"Now… how I do get out of here and get back to that restaurant?" I muttered to myself.

Fortunately, someone had heard the noise from my actions to avert a fate of death, and saw the crane's missing cargo. A repairman was called and came up with a toolbox, which I promptly possessed. After a few minutes of checking the crane for malfunctions, the man packed up his tools and headed inside the building and downstairs. I jumped to a local phone as he passed it, the landline glowing red in Ghost World.

I went over the numbers in my memory… and put in the only number I could think of that was very close to that restaurant. I shot into the lines, and found myself at my destination within the second.

I made my way out of the building from there, which took some time and I used a tire that was sitting in the middle of the sidewalk (I had no idea why) to roll along.

I arrived at the restaurant… and my body was gone…

_That Fowl boy didn't…_

I was immediately enraged…

_I helped avert his fate and this is the thanks I get! Who the hell does he think he is?_

I noticed someone with a cell phone nearby and at first, I thought I could quickly make it back home to talk to Detective Jowd but then when I looked at the phone in Ghost World… no waves were coming off it. It was like a regular phone when I was trying to undo a death in time: just another object.

I noticed that the person in question wasn't using the phone to talk… they were doing something else on it…

_Maybe I can only use a cell phone for travel when it's in-use regardless of circumstances…_

It made sense, much to my annoyance… it meant that cell phones were useful in a rather limited fashion.

_So how the heck do I get home?_ I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it back to the other phone I had used to get here.

I figured then that I might as well check the restaurant on-hand. I went inside, and made my way into the kitchen in the back, in a platter a waiter was carrying.

There on a wall was a telephone, ready for use.

_Good, at least I'm not completely out of luck today._

My luck continued to hold as the waiter carrying me passed the phone and I jumped into it the moment I had a chance.

I immediately dialed for home.

Detective Jowd was home and entertaining the little lady and his wife with stories. The man was fairly strong-looking and sported a thick beard, and wore a simple set of blue jeans with an olive-green trench coat over a white shirt. I knew from experience he was a very kind man but had a determined streak.

I moved over to him and connected to the detective immediately.

"Detective, I've got trouble!" Jowd was a bit startled by my sudden connection but calmed down.

"What is it Sissel?"

"I went helping someone just a few minutes ago and they went and took my body somewhere… it's gone." I said angrily. Jowd remained composed even after hearing me out.

"Alright, what did this person look like?"

I described Artemis thoroughly, and when I had finished, Jowd was frowning deeply.

"Fowl…" he murmured "I've heard of him…"

"What? Really?" I was somewhat astonished.

"Yes… he's Irish. A well-known boy who's known for his schemes… he's visiting the country you say?"

"Yeah… said something about investigating the meteor at the park." Jowd got very nervous.

"If he's investigating Temsik… that can't be good…"

Out in the living world, Jowd recomposed his startled self, and finished the tale is he was telling the little lady. He then told them he needed to do something and started for the door.

The phone then rang, and Jowd quickly answered it.

"Hello?" his face hardened a moment later.

"Who is this?" Then he looked up and murmured one word… "Sissel…"

Understanding the signal, I moved to the phone and possessed it, looking into the phone line…

Artemis was on the other end.

"…perhaps I could arrange a place to meet with you to return your lost pet?" Artemis was saying. Jowd, to his credit, kept his voice composed even though he probably had guessed who it was even if he hadn't been told.

"That would be much appreciated, sir." Jowd said courteously. They briefly exchanged where to meet… which ended up being the park and I went through the phone line to Artemis's end.

The boy hung up and I looked around. We were in a car and my body was in the front seat, Artemis was in the back and his bodyguard was driving. I couldn't see any way from where I was to reach my body. So I did the only thing I could and reached up to the core at Artemis's head. I could talk to any living person that had been dead and rescued by someone like myself; I was going to have a word with the thief.

"What kind of thanks is this? Stealing my body?" I roared immediately.

Artemis was briefly surprised but smiled, apparently happy to see me.

"Hm, how interesting… you can talk to me even when I'm alive then?"

"Only to those I've saved… which I might remind you, you are included among!" I hissed.

Artemis's smile faded to be replaced by a firm, determined look.

"Yes… I'm looking for information Sissel and I will not be denied it." Artemis said sternly.

"What is it, 'Foul'?" I growled, feeling the name was now rather appropriate.

"I want to know how you can do what you are capable of. Rewinding time is no small feat."

"Like I'm going to trust someone like you with information like that." Artemis looked unfazed.

"I could just order my bodyguard to destroy the body."

_Hah! That won't work._

"Oh? And why's that?" Artemis said, immediately interested… I cursed… completely forgot about thoughts being heard.

Artemis glared and repeated his question.

"Look Artemis, you've already died once because of this meteorite you're looking to investigate. After this, I'm not exactly inclined to prevent it if it happens again." I said pointedly.

Artemis's expression soften and he bowed his head… I had evidently gotten him good. He sighed.

"Alright… I acknowledge that this course of action is wrong… but I will be honest with you: I am merely curious about this meteorite. Please Sissel, tell me what is so special about it." Artemis said and he looked like he was truly feeling guilt.

I stared at Artemis… was he being truly honest? Or was this a trick?

"Allow me back into my body… and maybe I'll tell you…" I said slowly. Artemis considered my offer…

"So… you want me to trust that you will tell me what I want to know… if I run the risk that you'll escape."

Admittedly, that was more or less my plan. I didn't want to tell this sinister boy anything but…

The car in the living world was continuing on down the road and we were nearing the park.

Then I realized… if this boy was as smart I thought he was… he was likely going to find something out somehow anyways… and he could get himself killed. Even if he was a thief… he had those who mattered to him and he probably cared about them. That... and something was nagging me that the guilt I was seeing in his eyes was real.

Artemis, who was apparently listening in on my thoughts, averted his eyes as he heard my latest thoughts.

Even if he was thief… I wasn't so cruel that I would wish him dead… and leave those who cared about him traumatized.

"Alright Artemis…" I groaned, not able to believe I was doing this "I'll tell you… just let me back into my body first…"

Artemis apparently picked up my resolve and leaned forward in his seat and held his cell phone out, near the body.

Butler started to speak but Artemis gently cut him off.

"Easy, Butler… relax… this is just according to plan." I jumped from Artemis's cell phone, to my body, which was letting off Temsik radiation. I got up, to Butler's surprise as Artemis sat back again.

I took a moment to stretch, as I'd been out of my body for a while. I then climbed into the backseat with Artemis and sat down next to him, where I connected to his mind again.

"Right then… the meteor…"


	4. Chapter 4

_**This chapter is more or less a recap of several things. But it's mostly a take of things from Artemis's view.**_

_**Sorry if things might be a bit soppy... I hope I did this well...**_

The "Lucky" Black Cat

Chapter 4

**Artemis**

I had no intention of keeping Sissel's body… besides that, he would be coming for it sooner or later.

After a few minutes of contemplating, I figured perhaps his… owners would be the safest bet. Perhaps they would even know something, though I had my doubts. I recalled the number on the nametag and dialed it in on my cell phone (the letters were just replaced with the corresponding numbers obviously).

"Hello?" a man answered the phone on the other end.

"Hello," I said, using a tone of voice to imply someone returning lost property "I believe I have something that belongs to you… or a friend of yours…"

"Who is this?" I could hear the suspicion in their tones.

"No one you need to worry about. I believe I've found a pet that has wandered from home… I am simply contacting whomever I believe to be the owner." I said.

I heard a whisper on the other end too quiet for me to catch.

"My apologies if I have gotten the wrong number…" I continued "but if the stray I have found is yours, perhaps I could arrange a place to meet with you to return your lost pet?" I suggested.

"That would be much appreciated, sir." The man on the other end said, in a considerably more understanding tone. They seemed to have relaxed from receiving a call from a stranger.

"Perhaps the local park? Or could you give me directions to your residence?" I offered.

"The park sounds suitable. I'll meet you there shortly."

"Thank you."

Seconds after I hung up, Sissel's presence intruded on my mind, as infuriated as I might have expected.

Figuring he had come from over the phone line, I found myself pleasantly surprised at the fact that we could still communicate.

"Hm, how interesting… you can talk to me even when I'm alive then?"

His response was still understandably angry but confirmed my thoughts. Perhaps getting information would be easier than I expected. I decided to get straight to business, more or less ignoring his reminder of what he had done for me minutes ago. I was putting my guilt aside for the moment.

"Yes… I'm looking for information Sissel and I will not be denied it." I said sternly, the cat wouldn't be intimidated this time though and just impatiently asked what I wanted. I pushed on.

"I want to know how you can do what you are capable of. Rewinding time is no small feat."

It shouldn't have surprised me when he refused, but I still found myself getting just a bit irritated with his lack cooperation… then again, I couldn't exactly deny what I had done was deceitful. I decided to try threatening him.

"I could just order my bodyguard to destroy the body." The cat's thoughts betrayed him, but I found myself wondering why the body couldn't be destroyed. When I asked, Sissel looked away. I wasn't about to be beaten by an animal at conversation and pressured him again.

"Look Artemis, you've already died once because of this meteorite you're looking to investigate. After this, I'm not exactly inclined to prevent it if it happens again." Sissel responded. He was attacking that point again. I finally decided to concede there… there was no point denying it further and besides… I was already finding myself weighed down with more guilt than I felt I should have… I needed to get it off.

Mother was one thing and Holly was a good friend… but guilt over a cat? What was next? Insects?

"Alright… I acknowledge that this course of action is wrong…" I confessed "but I will be honest with you: I am merely curious about this meteorite. Please Sissel, tell me what is so special about it." I said. If I had been any more frank about my statement, I might have been begging. All these events pointed to the meteor as being the cause: my murder was originally to prevent my learning about it… Sissel seemed rather protective of it… and now he was refusing to tell me about himself. He had to know something and I wished to learn about it. He hesitated to speak for several moments… then he asked for me to return his body to him.

The first thing that crossed my mind of course, was that if his body was truly indestructible as he claimed, he was going to jump from the car as soon as he was in it again and Butler would be too busy with the wheel to be catching escaping animals. I wasn't an idiot… far from it.

"So… you want me to trust that you will tell me what I want to know… if I run the risk that you'll escape." I said, making it clear I wasn't fooled. His thoughts again confirmed that had been his intentions.

Then his thoughts turned over to thinking about those I cared for…

I soon realized that Sissel may be a cat… but he understood these concepts just as well as any human being…

I felt like an idiot right then and I couldn't bring myself to look at the cat… Holly might've wondered if I was going back to my old ways again if she had seen my actions today. It was no wonder I was feeling guilt over having stolen Sissel's body as I had.

Even if I didn't acknowledge it, Sissel was compassionate… and cared about just as many people in his own life and was even bringing himself to care about my own life despite what I had done. It seemed that we had at least a few things in common and I had ignored all of them… all in a selfish search for knowledge.

"Alright Artemis…" Sissel groaned and I looked up "I'll tell you… just let me back into my body first…" I could detect from his thoughts he wasn't going to run. He was going to tell me… if only with the hope it would get me to leave the meteorite alone.

I considering apologizing for my rash actions then but we were arriving at the park soon… I did wish to know about this meteor… I fished my cell phone from my pocket and leaned forward in my seat, holding it as close to the cat's body as I could.

"Artemis-" Butler started.

"Easy, Butler… relax… this is just according to plan." I said calmly, almost soothingly. After a moment, the black cat got up in its seat and stretched, and then climbed over the seat to sit next to me.

"Right then… the meteor…" Sissel said, his tone making it clear that he indeed had had experiences with it. Tiring ones...

"Ten years ago, in an alternate time-line, a very old friend of mine by the name of Yomeil was in the park we're approaching now. He was… in some dire circumstances… and a fragment of meteor struck him…"

As Sissel went into his story, I found the concept of the alternate time-line intriguing and theories and other ideas began to sprout in my mind.

_No… I'm only here for knowledge… unless I can help someone with this… I will not use it…_

Sissel's friend had apparently found that a dead body that contained a fragment of the meteor, was rendered trapped in a state between life and death…

"Yomeil… he wasn't alive… his body's vital signs were officially flat-lining… but he wasn't exactly dead either." Sissel explained "He apparently lost a lot all at once and I was the only one there to take it with him. I couldn't do anything to help him… I was nothing more than a normal stray cat then…"

"So he adopted you?" I asked, making sure the details were straight in my mind.

"I suppose so… but he wanted revenge on those who had been involved in events and… in trying to exact it… he accidentally killed me…"

I was reminded of my error in baiting Jon Spiro some time back… no, I hadn't been the direct cause of Butler's current condition and my old friend was still alive… but it had been a very close thing and he would've been dead if not for Holly. The two events were similar enough for me to know how Sissel (and most of all, this Yomeil) was likely feeling…

"It was then that I first got my ghost tricks…" Sissel continued "The thing is: the Temsik meteor is radioactive apparently and those who die within that radiation… get ghost powers."

I blinked, intrigue building… so his abilities came from the meteor? Sissel continued.

"It was… a long night, I'll put it that way… and due to a series of circumstances… I ended up going back 10 years into the past and preventing Yomeil's death to the meteor."

_Ten __**years**__?_

I found myself reeling from this. He prevented a death that happened 10 years ago? Sissel's powers were starting to look highly formidable.

"I'm now living the new time-line I brought about because of that… and Yomeil is so much happier now. Along with several others I got acquainted with that night, including those who are my owners now. The previous time-line… I can still remember it and I don't want that kind of tragedy possibly happening again. So please Artemis… leave this alone."

"Wait…" I said "So how did you prevent the meteor from hitting this friend of yours?" I was wondering if he had brought up some sort of shield.

"I had help on that… another friend of mine… had powers like mine but they were vastly different too. We didn't destroy the meteor if that's what you're thinking. We only managed to divert its course but that was all that was needed. If you're wondering what happened to it… you'd have to look at the body sitting next to you."

I glanced at the black cat staring up at me from next to me in the car…

"I was there when it happened, and it hit me instead. It's inside of me now… and I've been a kitten physically for ten years now."

_Amazing… a Fountain of Youth that stole life and grants a sort of eternal life both at once…_

"Like I said," Sissel said calmly "This body is indestructible. You could stab this body and there would be no damage."

Butler interrupted the conversation.

"Artemis, we've arrived at the park."

"So Artemis… what are you going to do?" Sissel said, his eyes continuing to gaze at me.

…I came to a decision after a long minute and spoke aloud.

"Well… I suppose we ought to get you back to your owners." I said to the cat sitting next to me.

Butler opened the door of the car for me, after performing his usual security checks and I stepped out. Sissel followed me out and we headed into the park.

I was leaving this alone... I only needed to return Sissel first, and offer my apologies.


	5. Chapter 5

_**My apologies for the long period of time I took to put up a new chapter for this fiction. I've been wrestling with a case of writer's block.**_

_**I tried to contact a couple different Beta-Readers but no response so I'm just going to wrap this up here. Hope I ended it well enough...**_

The "Lucky" Black Cat

Chapter 5

**Sissel**

I couldn't help noticing that Artemis walked with a gentle but somewhat business-like strut as we entered the park. He didn't exactly march like a soldier or a high-strung businessman but he didn't just walk like the average teenager either.

I'd found the way some people walked really reflected their personality. A certain other detective I knew had a very interesting walk and sometimes half-danced his way to his destination. Artemis's walk was one that seemed to reflect some conflicting qualities: he was a teenager, someone who should be free-minded and loose… but I'd experienced his very formal manner of speech and way of doing things firsthand and this also showed slightly in his step. This blended with his youthful appearance made it hard to tell if he was trying to reflect a professional air or if there was something else to him.

What kind of history did this kid have that resulted in this? Everything about him seemed to be hiding something more but I had no ideas what those secrets might've been.

###

We soon arrived near the fountain where everything had taken place ten years ago.

"Hm, so this is Temsik Park?" Artemis murmured, calmly looking around. His eyes fell on the park mascot perched high up on the top of the fountain. I hopped up on the fountain edge and connected to Artemis.

"I understand that's the park mascot up there, it's supposed to resemble a bagworm or something like that… gave me some trouble in the past but it was also key in preventing Yomeil's death ten years ago." I explained.

Artemis smiled slightly but otherwise didn't respond. He sat near me on a local bench and interlaced his fingers, which he rested his chin on, evidently thinking. His bodyguard gazed around, searching for hostile persons around the park.

A minute or two later, Jowd came jogging into the park and saw me sitting next to Artemis. I padded over to him and jumped into his arms, where I contacted him.

"I think I've managed to give him a change of heart Jowd… but I really don't know. He's a puzzling kid."

Jowd nodded slightly and walked up to Artemis. Butler moved to defend his charge in case Jowd wasn't friendly.

"Artemis Fowl, I take it?" Jowd said. The boy looked up from his thoughts.

"And I take you are the owner of Sissel?" Artemis responded. Jowd nodded in confirmation. Artemis stood and calmly walked over until he was a few feet from the detective, enough that his guard could act if Jowd attacked.

"A local police detective. How interesting…" Artemis commented after looking over Jowd.

"I've heard of you Fowl. I've heard you're here because of the meteor." Jowd said, some tension creeping into his voice. Artemis looked up but didn't confirm or deny the statement.

"If I may ask, where you did you hear that?" Artemis said, obviously feigning some ignorance. Jowd, to his credit, tried to play ignorant himself.

"I heard from one of my fellow officers…" However I could see in Artemis's mismatched eyes that he wasn't fooled.

"Are you sure about that detective? I now have reason to believe we both know more about Sissel there than you're letting on." The boy said with a cool smile. Jowd averted his eyes, clearly unsettled by Artemis as I had been on our first meeting.

"I've had the cat for ten years now. Nothing unusual…" Jowd muttered, an obvious lie if you knew even a little, which Artemis did and more.

"Really Detective..." Artemis said his tone implying he was stretching his patience "If you're going to try and hide the truth from me, you could at least make the challenge worth my time." Jowd made eye contact with Artemis again, not looking too surprised. Artemis focused his gaze on me as he continued.

"A ten-year old... kitten? The cat looks rather young for one so old for a feline." Jowd continued to stare Artemis down as he apparently thought over what to say. After a few seconds that felt rather long, he finally spoke.

"Sissel is... unique." The detective admitted "But I'm telling you now: you should leave the meteor alone. It's for your own good." Jowd said, trying to be firm.

"And what if there is an aspect of the meteor that could be used to help people of the world?" Artemis argued "I wish to research the meteor, not just for knowledge but to help." The doubt Jowd held on that statement was clear though. He wouldn't believe Artemis was doing this for charity. The young genius apparently saw this and he sighed, looking somewhat annoyed.

"Fowl..." Jowd said, and I could tell he was remembering ten years ago "Believe me... no good can come of the meteor for mankind. There are too many who would abuse its power. How can I tell you aren't one of those people?"

Artemis opened his mouth to make a rebuttal but he closed it again, shaking his head with another sigh. The boy raised a hand and rested his fingers across his brow, thinking for several more moments before actually speaking.

"Point taken Detective. Short of giving you a complete synopsis my history, and I doubt it would relax your concerns, I have no reliable way of proving my most probable intentions to you. However, your friend there in your arms has chosen to trust someone like myself." Artemis said, clearly speaking of me "Can you at least share with me what you know about the meteor and I shall promise I will not bother the meteor further?" Jowd thought over the boy's offer and considered his point. It was true I had decided to trust him but I had had my doubts about it from the start and those doubts had grown over the short time we knew each other.

The discussion had hit a stalemate; Artemis probably wouldn't be talking Jowd into sharing information and it seemed the boy wouldn't back down. I got down from Jowd's arms, jumped up on the bench, and connected to Artemis.

"Fowl... Yomeil was rendered immortal by the meteor... you should realize that. And that immortality twisted his mind. He lost a lot and couldn't take it but he couldn't move on either."

"Not all people live under the same circumstances Sissel." Artemis responded coolly.

"You would like the idea of being forever trapped, never fitting in with the world again? Immortality seems appealing Artemis but it does not have the glory it appears to hold. You will want to have life... a true life like you do now."

"And yourself? I do not see you sulking about, unhappy with your position in... life." Artemis pointed out, an awkward pause included because I wasn't exactly alive so it was questionable to use the term "life".

"I never had much of one to begin with Artemis..." I said sadly, I was admitting my lowly position in life and death after all "This is a power I only enjoy because I've never drawn much attention in the first place and I don't mind watching others live their lives. You've also decided to trust me, by returning my body, so I ask you to trust me again: leave the meteor alone. Its power will only bring you grief; it already has once and I prevented that. I cannot trail you forever, preventing it every time."

Even though his thoughts were still hidden, I could see the conflict in his expression. This boy wanted to do his research, if only for knowledge... but I had managed to show that that knowledge could also bring pain. Artemis finally rolled his eyes in a very teenage-like manner before speaking aloud.

"Alright Detective... I suppose I understand."

Jowd glanced at me and I just returned the gaze, blinking rather innocently at him. Jowd nodded.

"Thank you." Artemis closed his eyes as he took in what he had just done. He then spoke.

"Admittedly, I still would like to know about this meteor but... if it really is a danger, I would rather not complicate my bodyguard's job any further than it already is." he finished, looking up at Butler with a small, joking smile. He was making an excuse just to be amusing, even I caught that. Butler didn't respond but looked like he would've liked to roll his eyes as well.

Jowd smiled, appreciating the understanding.

"Well then... if our business here is done, I'd like to get Sissel here back home." Jowd said and I got up to follow him.

**Artemis**

We were just leaving the park. I was feeling rather odd having decided to do as Sissel had asked and not researched the meteor further.

Then I noticed Sissel come running up behind me and Butler looked back as he noticed. I knelt down as Sissel came close so he could tell me what he wanted but before we made contact, I heard a gun being cocked and I looked up.

There was a man much like the one who had been named "Tengo" standing there, aiming a shotgun adorned with gold at Butler. Unfortunately, it seemed that Sissel had distracted Butler long enough that the man had focused his aim on Butler before he could draw his own weapon. A quick glance around served to give me doubts Sissel could do anything to help in this situation.

"Easy there big man..." the hitman said tensely "I'm after the boy there so if you'll just step aside, I might not put a few dozen holes in you. Lucky for Tengo I was in the area to pick up what he messed up on. He'll owe me one."

Then a man dressed in a crimson suit ran at the hitman. The man in question had just been passing by but apparently had decided to be a hero. The hitman evaded the intial attack but before he could shoot the newcomer, the man grabbed the shotgun and they started to struggle over it.

I then heard Sissel just in front of me yowl. I looked quickly between them. It was obvious from his reaction that he likely knew the man coming to Butler's defense. My old friend though was focused on my protection. He wasn't going to move in to attack either man and leave me undefended from another possible threat. However, if this hitman were competent, this other man would likely be dead before Butler intervened.

"Butler!" I called "Don't worry about me! Neutralize that hitman immediately!"

Butler obeyed the order with barely a hint of hesitation and moved in follow it. No more than five seconds later, Butler had the hitman falling to the ground unconscious. I stood up and approached the other man, who was staring at Butler in shock. Butler's mass tended to have that effect on people. The man was dressed in a fancy crimson suit that I would've found too tacky to wear myself. He wore a black shirt with a white tie underneath and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of designer sunglasses. His blonde hair was... absurd to be frank, as it towered up over his head in a tall cone, the tip reaching around Butler's chin.

"Thank you for distracting that man. If I may have your name?" I said courtiously.

He tore his eyes off of Butler and looked at me.

"Ah... yeah... think nothing of it... name's Yomeil." he said, clearly trying to get over the shock of seeing someone so massive as Butler.

_Yomeil... Sissel's old friend?_

"Do not worry about Butler. Being that you probably just saved both our lives, he won't harm you." I assured Yomeil. He stepped back from Butler and relaxed a bit.

"Well, I probably ought to get going..." It seemed Yomeil was a bit shy about being recognized for his heroics.

"I told my old friend here to rescue you because of an old friend of _yours_." I said with a friendly smile and glanced back. Sissel came running on-cue.

Yomeil looked quite surprised and caught the black cat as it jumped up on him. After several moments of looking at each other, Yomeil looked at me again.

"Artemis Fowl, right?" he asked, I nodded in response "I think you made a very wise choice to leave that rock alone. As I believe a particular _someone_ told you, it once ruined my life. It's only thanks to them that my life is so much better."

I just listened.

"Believe me, Artemis Fowl: you should appreciate life. It can never be replaced once it's lost forever. Well, anyways maybe I'll see you around. I gotta go!"

He then gently let Sissel down on the pavement and jogged away.

I knelt down again and petted Sissel, who contacted me.

"Thank you..." the cat's other thoughts were little else but immense gratitude. I didn't ask about Yomeil further... I'd already decided not to look into the meteor... and I didn't wish to tempt myself to look again.

"So, what have you chased me down for?" I asked.

"The detective wanted to invite you over for a meal. He thought we could at least part ways without any hard feelings. I think we'll be leaving without those either way now." Sissel chuckled as he finished. I found the offer to be very polite but...

"Forgive me my feline friend but I will have to decline. I have a school tour to rejoin so I can inform them I need to head home for some urgent business. I'm afraid I have some rather high tastes..." I admitted "Perhaps another time if we meet again."

The cat purred nonetheless.

"Hopefully if we do meet again, I won't need to save your life again." Sissel laughed.

"Alright, head back to your owner, Sissel." I said aloud and stood up. Sissel turned, giving me one final glance "farewell" and then turned and ran back the way he had come.

Butler took the moment to ask a question.

"If I may Artemis: there's something about that cat I can't see, isn't there?"

I gave him an amused smile.

"I imagine you figured that out when I first picked him up, yes?"

"You are not one to care about animals, Artemis. And I know a corpse when I see one. That cat was clearly dead but is up and moving."

"So he is..." I said quantly. Butler didn't bother digging for details how that was possible. He's already encountered fairies... one of which had saved his life. A cat saving mine, even if he didn't know how, wasn't that different.

"Now then Artemis, let us get you home before another hitman attempts to assassinate you."

I nodded and followed him to the car, calling the local police station on my cell phone so the unconscious hitman would be taken away. He would be waking up in jail on charges at least for having a weapon, if not more.

As for Butler and I, we were heading home. The fairies would've been interested in the meteor... perhaps Holly especially...  
>But I had promised Sissel to leave the meteor alone. Perhaps sometimes it is better not to avert a fate...<p>

I would not forget the black cat.

**THE END**


End file.
